Public wire-line telephones, though of diminished importance in view of the ubiquitous cellular phone, are still commonplace. For a fee, any member of the public can use such a telephone. That fee is often paid by inserting coins into the phone's coin slot, or by swiping a credit card through a local card reader, or by providing a credit card number to an operator. If coins are used to pay for the call, they provide a user with a predetermined amount of initial connect time (e.g., five minutes). Near the end of the initial connect period, the user is typically advised by a computer-generated message that the call is extendable for a specified period of time for a specified amount of money (e.g., "please deposit 60 cents for the next three minutes"). If the user wishes to extend the call, the appropriate coins are inserted into the coin slot.
A telephone call may end before the allotted time period expires. In such a case, a credit may be owed to the user. Unfortunately for the user, most public telephones do not provide change. In some cases, the user may contact a telephone operator to request that the credit be applied to a personal telephone, but most do not bother to do so.
In view of the foregoing, the public would benefit from a public telephone that provides change.